


City of the Dead

by Yeti



Series: Tales from the Teahouse [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Desert, Gen, Mercenaries, Mummies, Tall Tales, Tea, Undead
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:23:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3675579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeti/pseuds/Yeti
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A tale from the teahouse. Masood Khan comes to meet his good friend Kylan who has a crazy adventure lined up for the two of them. Before they set out the decided to meet at the Glass Moon Teahouse and share a tale or two before the night is out. Masood shares his time in the deserts of the southern lands with the folk at the Glass Moon. Strange times indeed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	City of the Dead

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2 of the Tales from the Tea House Series. If you haven't read part one don't worry I'm sure you will pick it up pretty quickly. The teahouse is a place for tall tales, and an excuse for me to explore word building in my fantasy universe. All characters and world are my own, please do not use them without permission.
> 
> Any resemblance to events real or otherwise is unintentional, that said there are a couple of films that did clearly inspire this work. 
> 
> Suggested listening to get in the mood is moroccan berber music, Nile's Ithiphalic if you can handle death metal and probably Orange Goblin.
> 
> Please leave feedback.

City of the Dead

 

Masood Khan didn't like to be this far north, especially not with winter approaching. Being from the dry lands the bordered some of the southern deserts he was not overly fond of the cold, but when he had a surprise message from Kylan Grey, his old traveling companion he felt compelled to make the journey. He owed Kylan his life, and Masood was not one to forget debts like this, he was an honorable man after all.

 

Masood was of medium height and lean sinewy build, with a darker olive complexion indicative of his birth lands. Keen grey eyes and a sharp nose, he had a modest collar length black beard of his people, that he was proud was still jet black, in spite of his advancing years. As he wandered up to the warm and inviting teahouse, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of expedition Kylan was thinking of that couldn't be mentioned in the message. The southern desert man walked up to The Glass Moon and eyed the place. It seemed to be safe enough, but years of travel in the rougher parts of the world had left him the kind of man who took few chances.

 

He pushed the door open and eyed the insides of the reasonably lit teahouse.

 

It was mid evening and the teahouse was obviously popular. There were many tables with men sitting about chatting and talking, drinking tea from small jugs. The room was thick with the smell of herby tea and the odd bit of pipe smoke, there was also the smell of food, which reminded Masood that he was hungry. He cast an eye around the room and saw Kylan sitting at a table with and old gnarled looking man with long white hair, he looked like an old soldier. There were two other nondescript looking men talking and drinking tea, a forgotten card game in front of them.

 

Kylan caught Masoods look and grinned giving him a nod, Masood was not a man inclined to smiles much but pressed his lips together and nodded. Kylan laughed and nodded at the counter.

 

Masood walked up to the counter to order some tea, he saw a tall young woman with red hair who had rosy cheeks and was about to call out to her when a wedge of a man appeared with a brown chin length beard and bushy eyebrows. To Masood the man looked like a bear.

 

"Weapons by the door." The big man rumbled and Masood stopped, he checked his person reflexively knowing that none of his knives were showing. He never let them show. Not till he was on you. Masood eyed the big man for a moment who tapped his nose, the desert man saw glimmer of humor in the big mans eye and nodded, about to turn to stow his pack and weapons when the big man spoke.

 

"Tea?" Masood looked at him.

 

"Yes." Then added. "Thank you." The big man nodded and was about to turn when Masood asked.

 

"Something to eat?"

 

"Stew and breads the special. There's nothing in it that would disagree with you." Masood nodded.

 

"You know my people then." The big man nodded making tea that looked suspiciously like fresh mint tea with honey. The most common drink in his part of the world, one that favored by young, old, man and woman alike.

 

"Aye. Lets just say I've see a fair bit." Masood nodded, stowing his bags with others around the corner from the door and within striking diastase of the bar. Masood came back and the burly man handed him a one man tea set. "Three tolen." He said and Masood fished out the small tablet shaped coins and paid him. "Lys will bring over your stew." Masood nodded, thanking the man and headed over to the table where Kylan was, putting his tray down. Kylan got up immediately and they shook hands, mercenary style gripping each others forearm.

 

Kylan pulled the desert man into a hug patting his back hard.

 

"Good to see you, you old bastard." Kylan said laughing.

 

"And you, you pale bastard." Masood said as they sat. Kylan still looked as he had done two years before, his blond hair and green eyes still bright and sharp, lean and ready for action. Masood had always admired that about the northern man, he was always ready for anything. Beast, foe, flood or worse and in their hey day it was usually worse.

 

The other men at the table greeted Masood and exchanged the merest of pleasantries. They were all mercenaries and new that less was more when it came to introductions. They all then settled back into their tea and light chatter, Masood took a sip of the mint tea and cast a look back to the bearlike man behind the counter who caught his eye and nodded back to Masood.

 

"Good tea?" Kylan said with a rye grin.

 

"Tastes like the tea from home." Masood said quietly, and Kylan laughed.

 

"Knew you'd like this place." Kylan pulled out a pouch and some pipe weed filling his pipe. The chatter of the men around them fell into an easy pattern, apparently reconvening a story that had been interrupted with the arrival of Masood, Kylan was half listening as was Masood.

 

"So." Masood said, not bothering to flesh out the question, Kylan wicked on his pipe and laughed, taking a sip of his tea.

 

"Eat, relax, hear a story or two. We'll talk later." Masood nodded, he hated not knowing what he had been summoned for and Kylan knew that. The fair man slapping him on the shoulder, leaning in. "Its a job, a good one. But we'll talk after you eat. Relax old friend." Masood sighed, some of the tension of not knowing ebbing from him, he didn't quite smile.

 

"Very well." The desert man said, drinking more of his tea, and opting to settle into the place for an evening. In due course as his dinner arrived and he listened to more of the talk round the table he relaxed. The tea helped too, and the over all ambiance was one of conviviality and cheer. At least it was more civilised than a bar, Masood thought.

 

He was brought back from his inner rumination by laughter and slapping on the table. Someone had apparently told a humorous anecdote about a tryst with a bar wench gone wrong. It had ended happily but not without a scar and a good tale. Masood chuckled and sipped his tea, some of the younger men eyed him out of the corner of their eyes. The old warrior who was sitting at the end of the table, who called himself Lysander was he one to summon Masoods attention.

 

"You're turn desert man, Kylan's been telling us about his exploits for the last two nights. I think its time you told us your side of things." He laughed and leaned back, apparently drinking some mildly narcotic tea. Masood shook his head.

 

"It doesn't do well to rob a man of his thunder." Masood paused looking at Kylan. "Not when he's so good at doing it himself." The men laughed and Kylan chuckled too, elbowing his friend.

 

"Go on Masood, tell us a tale." Masood grunted looking round the table of bearded and non-bearded expectant faces. Releasing he was unlikely to escape this one, Masood decided to.

 

"Very well…" Masood said. "My people are not noted for telling tall tales. It is not out way." Kylan rolled his eyes and the men chuckled.

 

"Well don't tell us a tall tale, at least tell us something interesting." One of the younger men said in a derisive tone. Masood fixed him with his grey eyes, that held a certain hypnotic appeal. The men froze and all seemed to sit up a little, all but Lysander who chuckled and sipped his tea.

 

"I will tell you a tale that to this day, I still do not understand." Masood said, his voice taking on a haunting tone. The men were suddenly in his thrall and Kylan puffed on his pipe with a slight grin.

 

"It was a time long ago, when many of you were still at your mothers breast." Masood paused and nodded at Lysander who laughed and nodded back out of respect, some of the younger men made snide remarks, but Masood continued. "It was my third job, I was barely a man of age and hardly had a real beard…"

 

***

 

The sun beat down on us as we walked.

 

 We were a small band of about six men, and one boy. We had been in two mercenary companies during wars with Wadi tribes in the very south of the southern desert lands. 

 

You know these lands? 

 

The one's where there are strange walled kingdoms, and temples to gods with the head of a beast, the body of a man. Very strange people indeed, but they mostly keep to themselves, which I for one was grateful for. We were also coming out of their lands, at least thats what we thought.

 

It had been a long journey, eight months of long hard fighting in dry conditions and we had been traveling three weeks by the time we reached the soft sands of the southeastern expanse. It was a good sign, as the boy, our guide was from one of the Bedouin tribes. He was sure we would reach a camel path within the next day, and from there travel either the towns of Hansa or Nekhel would be imminent. From there I would travel north for one week to my homelands.

 

I was grateful, as I wanted nothing more than to be home, and to see my brother and mother. I had not been home for almost two years by this time and missed the comforts of life in our town terribly. That would be until my feet became itchy again and I wandered out to look for adventure.

 

It was the end of a long day, we had been walking most of it without  break so when we came to the crest of an embankment and saw small plants and bushes.

 

"By the grace of god." I said lowly when it dawned on me, where there are trees, there is water.

 

"Masoo-" Yusef, one of the older men stopped as he stood by my side. He looked at me and the light in his eyes was enough to make me laugh.

 

"Where there are trees…" He said.

 

"There is water." I finished. Da'wud our guide grinned as I called him over. "You earned your keep today boy." I said and he laughed with glee. The other men had arrived and in the growing gloom of the evening we giddily ran in the direction we hoped to find water. We were right, after a half hour of walking the ground had become harder and rockier. Sure enough there was a lake, not a big one like you have here in the high plains and mountains. No this was a desert lake. Ringed with green trees, low bushes, rock and sand. It wasn't much but by the grace of god we were glad we found it.

 

The men were giddy that we had found this little sanctuary in the desert, I couldn't blame them, but something nagged at me. We had prepared a fire and many had washed clothing and swam in the lake after investigating it. It was sometime just before the evening meal when Yusef came to me.

 

"Masood?" He asked.

 

"Yusef." I paused and looked at him. "What troubles you?" Yusef didn't immediately answer he looked back out over the men, sprawling by the fire and laughing, joking.

 

"I have a bad feeling Masood." He said and I frowned. Yusef was one of the oldest in our band. He and I had fought side by side for many moons. He had a unique sense for danger, many a time had he saved lives.

 

"Have you seen anything amiss?"

 

"No, nothing." Yusef said looking out over the rocky ridges of the small valley we were in and then back at me. There was something in his eyes. "Nothing yet Masood. I don't know what it is, but I have a dark feeling about this place." I pondered this for a moment and thought on what to do.

 

"Will you take first watch?" I asked and Yusef nodded, then motioned that he would rest a little till it was time.

 

I agreed and then returned to the four other men and the boy, gathered around the fire talking and playing some kind of game with pebbles. Joining them we sat and talked for maybe another hour until the men started to get tired and one by one slipped off to sleep. I sat up for some time looking out to where Yusef had huddled himself against a rocky outcrop covered in a blanket that almost blended in with scenery, and I looked at the stars.

 

"God have mercy on us tonight." I said, and then uttered a silent prayer for the sake of the men hoping that the strange feeling growing in my stomach was just tireless and bad memories from the war.

 

I had troubled sleep that night, posed by eerie dreams of strange creatures that were bone and desiccated flesh. Monstrous men with fangs and wolves howling in the depths of the night. I could feel their howls in my sleep and it worried me, at one point I found myself running for my very life from a beast I could not see, and then I tripped and feel. Falling and rolling down a ditch filled with thorns rocks I lay there shaking.

 

"Masood!" I jerked awake to one of the younger men shaking me. I opened my bleary eyes and looked around the other men were in a quiet flurry of activity and Yusef was nowhere to be seen.

 

"What is it."

 

"Ali and Nafi are missing." I looked around and the camp and the other man was missing, apparently looking for Yusef. 

 

"When?" I looked at him, he was barely out of his teens and had eyes wide with fear. He was doing well not to shake but he was not far from genuine fear. I patted him on the shoulder.

 

"I don't know, I woke up when Yusef made a sound and looked around. They were gone, and then Maaz went to find Yusef." He said in quick panicked breaths. "I haven't heard him for some time." He added. I nodded.

 

"Pack up the kit and hide it in one of those caves over there, bring your weapons." I said and started to scan the small area of our camp. Yusef would have gotten to higher ground I knew, and probably took the boy with him to act as a second set of eyes. I grabbed my kit and packed it quickly grabbing my knives and scimitar and then paused.

 

Two of my men were gone, two on scout and one with me. No one had mentioned the boy. I checked his blankets and looked around the camp sight and then at the boy who woke me.

 

"Where is the boy?" I hissed, whispering not knowing if there were enemy near by. He shrugged.

 

"I don't know." I nodded, frowning. A dark feeling crept over me.

 

"Pack your things, and hurry." I said then added. "Quietly."

 

After stowing our possessions we made our way up a bank of rock and onto a sandy shelf that was littered with small bushes, I tried moving quietly but my companion was young and frightened. When we managed to get a look out over the rise back down into the small shallow valley that we had found with the oasis. I looked back and then along into the guts of the valley in the direction we had not traveled.

 

"What in the seven hells?" I whispered, and the boy with me stopped with a sharp intake of breath.

 

"I knew there was something strange about this place." Yusef's voice came out a low hiss next to me. I would have flinched but Yusef's ways were familiar too me as we gazed out over the strange scene that stood before us.

 

At the end of the shallow valley like region our little oasis was nestled in was a flat area surrounded by higher dunes and rocky hills. This was nothing new to my eyes, but what worried me was the strange structure that lay in the flat ground surrounded by these hills that looked as a front to the one facing us. Long walls that stretched the plane to each side of the hills, and a single long raised path that led up to the entrance at the center. It looked as composed of rows and rows of columns, but I wagered that there was an outer and an inner wall. What worried me is that though light emanated from what looked to be the center, there was not a guard or armed man in sight.

 

"What in the world is it?" I hissed at Yusef, who shook his head.

 

"I know not, but I have a dark feeling." He said and paused then added. "But that's where our lads are, if we choose to get them." I frowned at his last comment and looked at him.

 

"Why would we not?" He shrugged. 

 

"Perhaps we should move closer and see, then make up our minds." It was vague but I felt he was not telling me something. So I agreed and Yusef, Maaz and myself crept forward on the ridge that we were on keeping a proper visual and looking for any movement. Aaraf the young boy who had woken me was to bring up the rear.

 

We moved as one creeping along our perch, quickly and quietly stopping only when necessary. It must have taken the better part of half an hour to traverse the distance till we could gaze more soundly on the structure. As we moved closer disquiet grew in me, more and more as I realised that there weren't the sounds of the desert night. Just our shuffling feet and growing dread.

 

When we stopped at a vantage which was far to exposed for my liking, but Yusef assured me that this was where he had perched earlier in the night. We looked out over the courtyard of the fort, though we could scarcely make out great details due too our distance, I could clearly see there was some gathering of a large number of men in the courtyard. Though I could not make out their race something struck me as odd, and I looked back to Yusef.

 

"They walk…" He shook his head in the dark and fixed me with a grim stare.

 

"They shuffle brother." I blinked and looked back, creeping a little further down and realised that her was right. All the men who moved had a strange shuffling gait, like they were injured or worse.

 

"What are they?" I looked back and Yusef shook his head.

 

"Our men are gone Masood, I suggest we leave this place and get as far from here as we can." Yusef said, Maaz was sitting in quiet contemplation and fear looking out over the strange scene. I sat there and pondered this, I was not one to take absurd risks, but at the same time I never left a man behind.

 

"I need more proof Yusef, I need to see." I said pausing, leaning back and taking a sip from a water skin. Yusef grunted some kind of non-approval.

 

"You would be mad too Masood, trust me. I have seen ill omens like this before. There is no moon tonight, this is a cursed place." He said and gripped my shoulder. I looked into the older mans eye and a silent conversation between us played out as it had many times in the field before. Finally he sighed and then uncoiled some rope that had been slung over his shoulder under his coat and threw it at my feet.

 

"I will take one of the boys and wait half a mile up river from our old camp. You won't see me, but I will see you." He said and then motioned to Aaraf the more fearsome of the two boys to come with him. Yusef turned to me and fixed me with his eyes. "If you can save them do so, but I would put money that they are already dead." He tapped his nose, his way of signaling his sixth sense for things. "Get back when you have seen what you wish to see. I will wait till the hour of the wolf has passed and then leave at dawn." I nodded and then looked to Maaz.

 

"I will come with you." He said.

 

"You don't have to boy." He shook his head and looked at me hard. I nodded at him knowing he would not be dissuaded. "Aaraf show Yusef where our belongings are." The boy nodded. "May the grace of god be with you both."

 

"And you brother." Yusef said, then slipped off into the shadows silently with Aaraf in tow. I looked to my companion who had a determined look, and threw him the rope then looked out to make a plan for our next move.

 

The boy and I kept low, trying to use what little scrub there was as cover as we crept down the hill toward our mark. We figured that the lack of guards would work in our favor, but that keeping a high vantage with a clear escape was key. We would come down the hill, sneak in behind the main wall and scale it looking down on the courtyard. Our escape route was a little more convoluted, we could either flee along the top of the wall to the other side and scramble up the hill or we could flee along the perpendicular wall where it would join up with the hill we were on and double back. There were other options, but we would have to be desperate to take them, I prayed we would not be.

 

We made it to the wall we were to partially scale with little incident, as we came closer I glimpsed more and more what was in the fort. It did not bode well at all, as we came to the wall we heard eerie chanting. Ghostly and hollow and shuffling feet, what little I saw of the men that were congregated in the inner courtyard robbed me of all hope but I would not say anything till I had a closer look. Maaz and I took to the wall, grabbing at hand holds as best we could while trying to remain silent. There appeared to be no one who was on watch and I doubted we would be heard over the din in the fort. After a long hard and dusty climb up the wall reached the top, pausing only to massage out achy muscles and painful scrapes before we pushed on. 

 

I have to credit Maaz, he was… is I think he still lives, a stout and determined man he was when we were in that hell hole. We crouched behind the stone palisades and whispered a plan. We were to venture part way down the wall armed and at the ready, observe and then sneak back to cover and decide on a course of action. I didn't like our chances but I was not about to say it, we drew out knives figuring it was better to have them than nothing and that swords would be to obvious and unwieldy for a quick escape. 

 

We crept along the wall, occasionally sneaking peaks at the proceedings below. 

 

It was fearsome, some arcane ritual fire and a rack that seemed to be poised in front of a great stone seat that lay empty. I gazed down on the proceeding and there was an entire battalion of armored men, at least I thought they were men. Numbering as many as three hundred and dressed in the same bronzed segmented armor for the body, shoulders with greaves for the legs and gauntlet for the hands. Their heads were covered in an assortment of helmets and where not by the same off-white cloth that covered where the armor did not.

 

"By the will of God!" Maaz rasped under his breath, he had poked his head over the wall and was looking at the warriors.

 

"What?" I demanded but he just pointed and that's when I realised, this was not a battalion of men. These were some kind of abomination. From the halls of whatever lay behind the throne came a string of men with the same off white robes, only they wore no hood or helmet. Instead visible to the naked sky was the ghastly remnants of a human dried out by years under the desert sun, skin shrunken and pinched back over its skull. Two lidless eyes swam in the sockets of his head as he gazed around the sacrificial alter. Arms outstretched he bellowed something in a strange language and the battalion of men responded, their voices raspy like sand wearing at desert rock. I cringed feeling their utterances in my bones, nothing like this had I ever seen before and I was sure nothing good would come from remaining here long.

 

"We must go, nothing good will come of staying here." I hissed at Maaz who frowned and looked at me.

 

"Masood what about the men?" His young indigence at us leaving our comrades oozed out of his words.

 

"They are lost. Look, two men against an army of… or." Words failed me until I grasped on the old words of our people. "Djinn!" He looked at me with resentment, then back out over the scene below us.

 

As he did there was a cry and the creature who stood hoodless started to yell and preach something in their wholly strange language. He was animated and striding back and fourth yammering in their tongue, it was like the zealots in some of the towns and villages of south and the north. The battalions yammered approval every so often prompting Maaz to look at me.

 

"Fine but we have to at least see if we can see them. Say a prayer for them, that God may deliver their souls." I sighed and kept myself from rolling my eyes. I looked back to the horizon and roughly calculated that we needed to leave within the next half hour should we meet up with Yusef.

 

"So be it, but we leave in twenty minutes." I said and went back to peering over the wall. There was a change in the proceedings and there was a awe-struck murmuring that came across the soldiers. I gazed at the entrance from where the men came and there was yet another group of the hooded men who emerged, in their midst however was a woman. A woman more beautiful than I had ever laid eyes on, sledder body, golden skin and hair as black as the night sky. She moved with a fluid grace and assumed her seat on the throne casting what I thought were inky black eyes over her subjects. The battalion bowed and shouted something in unison that seemed to please her.

 

At that point Maaz who apparently had been looking elsewhere sharply breathed in and I looked to where the woman and her entourage had come. There in chains and with cloth covering their heads were Ali and Nafi being lead by these ungodly looking creature to stand before the woman. If this were not disturbing enough when our young guide emerged and casually wandered up to the throne where he was welcomed by the strange woman, who hugged him in a strangely maternal way and had him sit next to her on the stone seat.

 

"By the maker." Maaz swore and I looked at him, he had vengeance in his eyes. "Masood we must do something, that little -"

 

"Enough, you will get us killed. I tell you nothing good will come of this Maaz. What's done is done." I sighed putting my hand on his shoulder. He rebuffed me and scowled. "Listen you may feel you have the strength to take on this band of devils but I tell you as soon as they see us we will have a slim chance. Ali and Nafi are lost to us, Maaz don't be a fool." I could see he was enraged and was barely justifying to himself to follow my lead. I prayed that he would trust me and keep quiet, my prayers were answered at that time but far from the way in which I wanted. We were both startled by an ungodly shout and we looked back, it was the woman bedecked in her black and gold. She addressed the men with fervor and sulfur, it made my flesh crawl as she beckoned to our two stricken comrades. As if on cue the desiccated priest started to yammer in their language and reached for Ali where he was forced to kneel before the woman, that's when I knew the inevitable had come.

 

With black eyed bloodlust in her eyes, she slashed his throat with a golden dagger she has slipped from her clothing and with a scream she threw his body onto the fire, immediately the flames leapt into life, burning a brilliant blew a final gurgling scream was the last we heard of Ali. I wanted to tare my eyes away and pray for his swift basing but as I did, this foul witch unleashed a scream into the night that stopped Maaz and I cold in our own sweat. I cannot tell you exactly what I saw for certain that night, but I know it my heart it was evil.

 

As the blue flames claimed my comrades body and as this foul harpy of the dammed screamed a bright lights emerged from the body of Ali, and traveled up toward her gaping maw to be consumed. Whatever it was she took from Ali that night, after she had her fill there was a great cheer and her eyes burned with blue flame. She laughed, a hollow horrible soulless laugh. I looked to Maaz who was rooted to the spot, tears streaking his face and fear in his eyes.

 

"Maaz!" I hissed. "We must go." He did not respond so I shook his shoulders and tried to look at him.

 

"Maaz?" He looked at me like a scared child.

 

"Massood, what have they done?" He whispered, gripping his shoulders I stared him down.

 

"I know not, but we must run." He nodded mutely and as we started to move toward our egress I bade him take up the rear. We must have gotten about half way without incident when Maaz lost his composure as he heard the yammering again. I looked back and he had looked over the wall.

 

"Maaz no!" I hissed, but it was too late.

 

"You demons!" Maaz yelled loosing it finally, I cursed under my breath an lunged for the boy but it was far far to late. As we crashed to the ground cursing and swearing I heard the witch bellowing orders and a search commotion followed by her unintelligible yelling. I figured she was taunting us and that now was not the time to find out first had what she panned to do with those taunts.

 

"You fool!" I shook Maaz. "Run!" I bellowed and grabbed the collar of his shirt dragging him towards out exit with all my might. I registered only minor protest and furthered out pace. As we did I cast a look back over my shoulder, this was just as the stray shafts of arrows flew past us narrowly missing Maaz and I. Worse still was the sound of men scrambling up the stone.

 

"Hurry you fool!" I yelled at Maaz as we made our rocky escape so far unscathed. This part filled me with the most fear as scrambling up a rocky bank left us open to being shot by arrows, but looking back over the small group of men who hunted us, I preferred our chances of that than the other escape route.

 

We scrambled with enthusiasm ignoring the cuts and straps to our hands and knees as we moved. I looked back and saw they were struggling to make climb as quickly as we and it dawned on me. Being desiccated corpses, they could hardly move as well as two young men.

 

"Thank god." I said and Maaz looked at me. I nodded down. "They falter, they are slow." He muttered something like agreement and we pushed on, cresting the top of the bank onto flatter ground. Fear impelling us to move and forget out aches and painsand we surged on just as the daw started to announce its arrival.

 

"Come we must hurry." I said and Maaz ran with me, glancing over his shoulder he saw some of the skeletal frames emerge over the lip of the hill.

 

"Massood, they come!" He cried and I nodded not bothering to look back urging us on, I wagered we did not have long before either they caught up with us or Yusef left. We ran for what seemed like an eternity, occasionally casting looks back onto our pursuers who as the dawn broke more appeared more and more reluctant to follow us. Finally as we reached out small valley and neared the end of our flight I saw them look at us and stop.

 

Balefully they seemed to consider their pursuit.

 

"Masood?"

 

"I don't know boy, and I don't care. Move!" I bellowed and pushed him down toward the valley, we half scrambled and half collapsed onto the river bank by the time we made it to where we had camped the previous night. Exhaustion claimed us, but I pushed Maaz and myself on until finally we reached the point where Yusef said he would meet us. The bright light of dawn surrounded us and I collapsed on the earth, damp from its proximity to the river and let out a deep sigh.

 

"Will you listen to me next time I tell you its a bad Idea?" Yusefs voice drew my eyes open and the older man stood over me with a knowing look.

 

"Probably not." I said and he laughed offering a hand to pull me up.

 

"Good, they didn't send back an impostor then." He said a little grimly.

 

"Aye, but the boy was." Maaz said and Yusef's eyes went cold.

 

"We should leave this forsaken place." I agreed and so we picked up our belongings and started to walk the long road home, bone-weary and scared.

 

***

 

Masood took a sip of his tea and looked around the table of stunned young faces, and even over to the bearlike proprietor who nodded respectfully at the desert man. Kylan laughed and patted Masood on the shoulder.

 

"Always knew how to steal the show." He said getting up and heading to the washroom, Masood sipped his tea and laughed knowing Kylan was leaving him to field the million and one questions that would come.

 

"This is true what you speak?" One younger man asked, and Masood gave an indulgent smirk.

 

"Aye, I've seen these things before." Lysander the old warrior at the end of the table. "There be fearsome devils out there amongst those who pedal the black arts. Isn't it so Sas?" The bear like man grunted his agreement.

 

"You be a lucky man." He said to Masood who nodded his thanks at the odd praise. The bearlike man bid his leave and returned to serving customers as the chatter round the table increased, the younger men discussing the tale, Lysander or Masood adding the odd detail. The desert man preferred to finish his tea and meal and crawl off to bed.

 

After some time Kylan echoed similar sentiments, and they both left together chattering amicably as they left, thanking the proprietor. As the got out of the door Masood finally asked.

 

"What is this venture you seek my aid for?" Kylan gave him a knowing look.

 

"Ah, that… well it is a little convoluted. But do you remember when we were in Kaizan after the battle of fire pass?" Masood nodded with an expression that said 'I could not forget for all the money in Kaizan.'

 

"Well, I may have found what it goes to." Kylan said, with an expression that said 'Really I have found it, and you probably won't like this.'

 

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this." Masood said half seriously putting his arm on his friends shoulder. 

 

"Haven't a clue why." Kylan said ironically and both men laughed as they wandered into the night.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
